Twitter's CEO downplays chatter about possible acquisition

By David Ingram

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - Twitter Inc Chief Executive Jack Dorsey said on Tuesday that he saw value in the social media network remaining an independent company, downplaying recent speculation by analysts that it could be an acquisition target.

"I've always thought that there's a lot of strength to our independence. We can work on every device. We can work through any medium," Dorsey said in a response to a question at the Goldman Sachs Technology and Internet Conference.

Some investment analysts reignited talk of a potential Twitter deal last week when Twitter reported a surprising rise in revenue and its first quarterly profit.

The Walt Disney Co expressed interest in 2016, though at the time Twitter shares were trading at about half the current price, meaning an acquisition by anyone would be much more expensive than two years ago.

Shares in Twitter closed at $33.44 on Tuesday, up 8 percent against a 0.3 percent rise in the S&P 500 Index. Dorsey's comments came after the closing bell, and shares were unchanged afterward.